Flutterwave now worth $1bn after raising fresh $170m

Flutterwave now worth $1bn after raising fresh $170m

African focused payments company, Flutterwave has raised $170m in the latest funding round that has blown its valuation past a billion dollars.

The Series C round was led by New York-based private investment firm Avenir Growth Capital and US hedge fund and investment firm Tiger Global.

DST Global, Early Capital Berrywood, Green Visor Capital, Greycroft Capital, Insight Ventures, PayPal, Salesforce Ventures, Tiger Management, WorldpayFIS 9yards Capital are among the new and existing investors that participated in the round.

A Reuters report has it that Flutterwave CEO, Olugbenga Agboola, says that the company will be looking to either list on the New York Stock Exchange, or perform a dual listing in the US and Nigeria.

Flutterwave said that the new funding will be used to expand its customer base in existing and international markets and for developing new fintech products.

The company reports that the COVID-19 pandemic had accelerated the shift towards digital payments in Nigeria, and its valuation is now in excess of $1 billion.

Techcrunch reports that over 290,000 businesses use the platform for payments in up to 150 currencies and multiple payments modes including local and international cards, mobile wallets, bank transfers, and Barter by Flutterwave.

Flutterwave says it’s now live in 20 African countries, and its payments infrastructure is present in over 33 countries.

CEO Agboola, told Techcrunch that the company grew more than 100% in revenue within the past year and its compound annual growth rate (CAGR) grew by 226% from 2018.

Agboola says his company grew more than 100% in revenue within the past year due to the pandemic without giving specifics on numbers. It also contributed to its compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 226% from 2018.

The latest round brings Flutterwave’s total disclosed funding to $225m. IF its It also comes after the company announced a strategic partnership with Visa and Worldpay.

With its latest valuation, Flutterwave joins the ranks of Africa’s other heavyweights, Jumia and Interswitch as unicorns valued at over a billion dollars.

This follows other noteworthy developments in the African tech space. In October 2020, US payments company, Stripe acquired Nigerian fintech startup, Paystack for $200m.